Fighting for Those Involved in Nursing Home Falls in Florida

Putting our loved ones in a nursing home is a tough decision for families to make. When your parent or grandparent is in a nursing home, it is usually because the nursing home can better care for your family member. But there are times when nursing home staff do not take good care of your parent or grandparent, and when this happens, the nursing home can be held responsible for injuries. Elderly residents are at serious risk of falling in nursing homes. In many instances, a serious injury like a broken hip can be difficult for your loved one to recover from, and it can lead to a cascade of health problems culminating in the resident’s death. However, if the proper safety protocols are followed, residents shouldn’t be vulnerable to nursing home falls.

Why Nursing Home Falls Should Never Happen

Every nursing home staff member is usually a highly trained medical professional. They have to follow a long list of safety protocols, particularly if the nursing home resident has been declared a fall risk. Nursing home fall injuries should never happen, or, at the very least, should be extremely rare. Unfortunately, that is not the current situation. Each year, 3 million older people are treated in emergency departments for fall injuries. Over 800,000 patients a year are hospitalized because of a fall injury, most often because of a head injury or hip fracture. Nursing home deaths related to falls have increased 30% from 2007 to 2016. It’s a major problem in the United States, especially in Florida. The elderly who fall suffer from serious head injuries, hip fractures, pelvic bone fractures, and multiple broken bones. The nursing home industry knows of the risk, but these incidents and injuries, and deaths still happen far too often.

Here are some of the excuses we hear from nursing homes and their staff:

• Staff shortages
• The resident has dementia and can’t articulate their symptoms
• The resident is physically weak, and the staff didn’t realize how weak they were
• There is a lack of a fall prevention program at the nursing home facility

If a loved one has fallen and suffered a serious injury while a nursing home resident, they could be entitled to compensation for their injuries. Nursing homes should be held responsible for their negligent and careless actions, and a nursing home negligence lawyer will be able to investigate the case and make sure that your loved one is fully and fairly compensated for their injuries. A good attorney will also help ensure that this problem doesn’t happen again by alerting the appropriate state regulators to breaches in safety protocol at the facility.

Hiring A Florida Nursing Home Injury Lawyer

If you or a loved one has been injured at a nursing home, you should immediately consult with an attorney who can help you figure out if the nursing home might be legally responsible. An experienced attorney can help you investigate the cause of the injury and determine if they need to pay you for the harm caused. Remember that nursing home injury cases are complex, and these companies are not in the business of admitting fault. So, you will want an experienced personal injury attorney in your corner.

Call the Watson Firm at (850) 607-2929. We specialize in protecting the interests of injured nursing home residents. Our attorneys fight to get victims the compensation and justice they deserve. Don’t let a negligent nursing home continue to hurt vulnerable elderly citizens. Contact us today if you or someone you love has been injured in a nursing home fall. We offer free consultations.